Game Dev Advice: The Game Developer's Podcast

Frank Force joins us to talk about how game developers can ship faster, learn better, and avoid getting trapped by perfectionism. He shares lessons from AAA development at studios like Volition, Midway Games, and others including milestone pressure, polish, crunch, and speedrun-style bug hunting on PsiOps. He also breaks down his current push to release Pyroot, a C++/DirectX Metroidvania he started 6–7 years ago, on Steam Early Access. The conversation dives into why Frank believes browser-based development, JavaScript, game jams, and sharing work early can be powerful ways to build skills and a portfolio. He challenges the idea that web development can't produce “real” games and explains why low-friction tools can make it easier to experiment, iterate, and actually finish projects. Frank also gets into sizecoding and creative programming through JS1K, JS13K and Dwitter, the origins and growth of his open-source LittleJS game engine, procedural audio with ZZFX, and the mindset of removing rather than adding. Plus, he shares how AI is already helping game developers find bugs, prototype ideas, and give small teams more leverage, while also discussing his concerns about sunk-cost thinking, exploitative player psychology, and where the industry may be heading. Topics include: • Breaking into game development • Building a portfolio • Shipping games instead of endlessly polishing • JavaScript and browser-based game development • AAA development lessons • Indie game development • Game jams and rapid iteration • Sizecoding, JS1K, JS13K and Dwitter • LittleJS and open-source development • Procedural audio and ZZFX • AI tools for game developers • Going indie full time━━━━━━ TIMESTAMPS ━━━━━━ 00:00 - Career Advice Myth 00:36 - Meet Frank Force 00:56 - Pyroot Early Access 02:53 - AAA Lessons and Crunch 05:12 - Speedrunning for QA 05:43 - JavaScript Game Dev 09:02 - Ship Fast Share Early 12:03 - Advance Inside Studios 14:36 - Breaking In and Portfolios 18:03 - Sunk Cost Trap 19:27 - AI for Game Development 34:33 - Industry Concerns and Hope 38:57 - Size Coding JS1K 41:44 - Recreational Programming 41:57 - Code Golf vs Sizecoding 43:24 - Demo Scene Culture 44:31 - JavaScript Sizecoding Shift 45:26 - Procedural Assets Challenge 46:13 - Remove Not Add Mindset 48:05 - JS13K Sweet Spot 51:27 - Dwitter Raycasting Magic 54:23 - LittleJS Origin Story 57:10 - Open Source Community Growth 58:47 - Driven Wild and Self Promotion 01:00:48 - ZZFX Sound Without Assets 01:03:03 - Optical Illusion Breakthrough 01:06:25 - Make Stuff and Share It 01:09:11 - Going Indie Full Time 01:13:18 - Generative Art NFT Detour 01:17:12 - Monetizing Web Games 01:20:15 - Advice and AI Tools 01:22:47 - Final Thanks ━━━━━━━━━ ABOUT THE GUEST ━━━━━━━━━ Frank Force has been building real-time interactive software for over 25 years, from AAA titles like DOOM and Red Faction: Guerrilla to LittleJS, his open source game engine with over 4,000 stars on GitHub. He runs Frank Force Games in Austin, Texas, where he works on engines, graphics, games, and tools, and writes an unreasonable number of very tiny programs. ━━━━━━━━━ LINKS & RESOURCES ━━━━━━━━━ https://frankforce.com/ - Frank's website with links to projects and longform writeups https://killedbyapixel.itch.io/dr1v3n-wild - Frank's arcade driving game (started as a 13k game) https://killedbyapixel.github.io/LittleJSArcade/ - 50+ open source games made with LittleJS https://cosmodial.3d2k.com/ - Cosmodial is Frank's newly released open source star atlas https://js13kgames.com/ - JS13k games the 13k size JavaScript coding competition ━━━━━━━━━ GAME DEV ADVICE ━━━━━━━━━ Whether you're a student, aspiring game developer, or industry veteran, you'll find practical takeaways and real stories from inside the world of game development. 👉 Subscribe:    / @gamedevadvice   👉 Spotify & Apple Podcasts: https://open.spotify.com/show/5NChfUV... & https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 👉 Patreon / Career Coaching:   / gamedevadvice   👉 Hotline: (224) 484-7733 👉 Email: [email protected] 👉 Website: www.gamedevadvice.com 👉 Watch this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/bUrujIj-Mok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kirk Becker and Hunter Fortuin of Rushdown Studios join JP for a wide-ranging conversation on breaking into games, advancing your career, building a co-dev studio, AI's real impact, and what 2026 looks like from inside the industry. KEY TOPICS • Breaking into the games industry in 2026 • The "brag book" strategy for career advancement • Networking, portfolios, and increasing your surface area of luck • Co-development studio culture and ownership mindset • AI in game dev: what's real, what's hype, and what to do about it • Why NOT hiring junior talent due to AI is a long-term danger • UEFN, Roblox, Godot, and the new wave of accessible game development tools • Sustainable game development vs. big-budget gambles TIMESTAMPS 0:30 — Introductions & where in the world are you? 0:39 — Current roles at Rushdown Studios 1:17 — What early career work taught Hunter the most 2:24 — Career advice that turned out to be wrong 10:41 — Mistakes game devs make when trying to advance their career 24:32 — AI: Why every game dev needs to learn to leverage it now 24:47 — What's overhyped vs. what AI actually does well 26:03 — JP's take: using AI every day & the retired engineer who wakes up excited to build 28:22 — When did joining/starting Rushdown feel like the right move? 39:44 — The most dangerous sentence in game development 40:28 — How Rushdown protects team health & sustainability 46:42 — Hard lessons learned from managing and leading teams 49:58 — What concerns you most about the games industry in 2026? 53:52 — AI: The real risk — will executives use it to stop hiring junior talent? 55:57 — AI: "It's like having an intern with a PhD in everything" — Kirk's take 57:02 — AI in practice: yelling at a computer & the Simpsons meme moment 58:26 — A game dev renaissance? Why AI + small teams = reason to be optimistic 1:03:45 — Funniest early career mistake (Kirk's League of Legends potato mode story) 1:05:35 — Final advice: build relationships before you need them + go try AI tools yourself ABOUT THE GUESTS Hunter Fortuin has worked in games for over a decade and has worn a lot of hats, though his specialty is in online multiplayer games. Having worked in co-development for all of his time in the industry he's gotten to see the good, the bad, and the ugly across many different studios. He's currently acting as Technical Director at Rushdown Studios where he works to support indie, AA, and AAA titles. Kirk Becker is the Studio Director and Co-Founder of Rushdown Studios, a U.S.-based co-development studio focused on multiplayer games. He co-founded Rushdown in 2021 alongside fellow industry veterans after years of programming together on games like PUBG, League of Legends, and more. He leads the studio based in Saratoga Springs, NY. LINKS & RESOURCES Rushdown Studios: https://www.rushdownstudios.com UEFN / Fortnite Creative: https://www.fortnite.com/developer Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: https://www.expedition33.com Godot Engine: https://www.godotengine.org Claude AI: https://www.claude.ai Look North World: https://www.looknorth.world Amir Satvat: https://www.asgc.gg FOLLOW GAME DEV ADVICE Website: www.gamedevadvice.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/gamedevadvice Hotline: (224) 484-7733 Email: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Jeff Linville — co-founder of Ritual Studios — returns to Game Dev Advice to talk about the journey behind his band-inspired RPG Fretless: The Wrath of Riffson. From starting a studio with college friends to launching worldwide with French publisher Playdigious, Jeff shares the hard-won lessons of taking the leap into full-time indie development. We go into what it really takes to form a studio, ship a first game, and survive the chaos between passion and business reality. Topics We Cover • Founding Ritual Studios after meeting at Columbia College Chicago • How Fretless mixes music, RPG, and deck-building mechanics • The moment they quit their jobs to “really do it” and chase a publishing deal • Lessons learned about funding, taxes, lawyers, and running a real company • Building a standout pitch deck and landing a deal with Playdigious in France • Managing bugs, Steam feedback, and localization into seven languages • Outsourcing art and engineering — and why it’s harder than it sounds • Choosing FMOD over Wwise for advanced Unity audio integration • Why getting your game playable early is key • How Cardio Ex shaped Jeff’s music-driven sound design • Thoughts on AI tools in audio, from noise cleanup to creative limits • Favorite soundtracks: Hyper Light Drifter and Guild Wars 1 • Current go-to games: Pillars of Eternity and Lord of the Rings Online • Reflections on Mortal Kombat, Midway Games, and player nostalgia • Advice for anyone going indie: “Be ready for it — it’s a business.” 🎥 Making-Of Documentary Making a Musical Indie Game from Scratch (30 min): https://youtu.be/3USobO6qRHE?si=aEhUEI0dwQbMqki2 🎮 Play / Follow • Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson (Steam): https://store.steampowered.com/app/2429050/Fretless__The_Wrath_of_Riffson/ • Ritual Studios (Bluesky): https://bsky.app/profile/ritualstudios.bsky.social • Ritual Studios (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/ritualgamestudios/?hl=en • Fretless Original Soundtrack (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/album/1VXVxtFzJOUYJypudcF9DN? • Jeff Linville @Dovetail (Linktr.ee): https://linktr.ee/dovetailmusic • Rob Scallon (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/RobScallon • Playdigious (Bluesky): https://bsky.app/profile/playdigious.bsky.social Bio Jeff Linville is Co-Founder of Ritual Studios, a Chicago-based indie studio that published their acclaimed debut, Fretless: The Wrath of Riffson, in July 2025. With 8+ years in game audio and production, Jeff has worked on Fretless, Cardio Ex, and more. 🕹️ Game Dev Advice Whether you’re a student, aspiring dev, or industry veteran, you’ll find practical takeaways and stories from inside game development. Start Here • Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvkY8LxjGyOPqlQKuRlObhg • Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5NChfUVhFxV9NCoUVp4uD0 • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/game-dev-advice-the-game-developers-podcast/id1450096263 • Patreon (Gain Wisdom coaching): https://www.patreon.com/gamedevadvice • Hotline: (224) 484-7733 • Email: [email protected] • Website: https://www.gamedevadvice.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, we dive deep into Tim’s creative journey behind Disney’s hit mobile game Where’s My Water? and what it really takes to break into and succeed in the game industry. From starting out in QA testing to leading creative teams at Disney, and later becoming a successful solo indie developer, Tim’s conversation is packed with insights, stories, and advice for anyone passionate about making games. We cover topics every developer, designer, and indie creator will relate to: The making of Where’s My Water? and how it became a global success Transitioning from QA tester to game designer and creative leadership Using unique skills (like Japanese language fluency) to break into the industry Why communication and flexibility are key to creative careers The challenge of finishing projects and navigating free-to-play models How to handle fears, impostor syndrome, and career advancement in gaming Current trends shaping the industry, from indie development to AI in games Streaming game development on Twitch and building community Indie game recommendations you should play now Whether you’re a student, aspiring game developer, or industry veteran, you’ll find practical takeaways and entertaining stories from inside the world of game development. 🎮 Want to learn how to build your own career in games? Start here: 👉 Subscribe for more Game Dev Advice: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvkY8LxjGyOPqlQKuRlObhg   👉 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts: https://open.spotify.com/show/5NChfUVhFxV9NCoUVp4uD0 & https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/game-dev-advice-the-game-developers-podcast/id1450096263 👉 Patreon: career coaching through Gain Wisdom: https://www.patreon.com/gamedevadvice   👉 Game Dev Advice hotline: (224) 484-7733 👉 Email: [email protected] 👉 Website: www.gamedevadvice.com  Bio: Tim has been making games for more than 20 years now, at companies like Disney, Universal, and now as an independent creator under his own studio, Walaber Entertainment. At Disney, he was the lead designer of the hit mobile game "Where's My Water?", as well as the creator of the "JellyCar" series of games. As an indie, he has released multiple games such as "Pro Gymnast Simulator", "JellyCar Worlds", "Parking Garage Rally Circuit", and "Replicube". He also streams live game development several times a week on twitch.tv/walaber. Connect With Links: * website: https://walaber.com * Twitch: https://twitch.tv/walaber * Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/walaber.com Games He’s Playing* Öoo on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2721890/oo/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Game Dev Advice, writer and comedian Mike Drucker shares his journey across the worlds of television, video games, and comedy. Starting as an assistant and researcher at Saturday Night Live, Mike moved into game localization at Nintendo—where he even played basketball with Reggie Fils-Aimé—before joining The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as a writer and then Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. He dives into the creative challenges of translating humor across mediums, from crafting jokes for a global audience to building narrative in games. We also discuss his book, Good Game, No Rematch, a funny and heartfelt exploration of growing up with games, self-doubt, and finding meaning in pop culture. Mike shares behind-the-scenes stories from working at IGN, creating mock news shows, and writing for Mystery Science Theater 3000. Packed with industry insights and honest advice for aspiring writers, this conversation highlights the importance of joy, resilience, and staying passionate in your craft. Bio: Mike Drucker is an Emmy-nominated, Writers Guild Award–winning comedian, writer, and producer based in New York. He’s written for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Bill Nye Saves the World, and more. At Nintendo of America, he worked on Kid Icarus: Uprising and Mario Party 9. His latest book, Good Game, No Rematch, blends humor and heart in a memoir about growing up, video games, and pop culture. Show Links: *Good Game, No Rematch - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668015477 *Late Night with Seth Meyers interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltVPFFSgUkE *Chrono Trigger – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrono_Trigger en.wikipedia.org+5en.wikipedia.org+5en.wikipedia.org+5 *Persona 5 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona_5 en.wikipedia.org+12en.wikipedia.org+12megamitensei.fandom.com+12 *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clair_Obscur:_Expedition_33 *IGN’s Up at Noon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6fBaggwNcg *Mystery Science Theater 3000 - https://www.youtube.com/@MST3K *Bill Nye Saves Saves the World - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-_HKOcYBK8 *The Onion Book of Known Knowledge - https://www.amazon.com/Onion-Book-Known-Knowledge-Encyclopaedia/dp/0316133264/ Connect With Links: Mike Drucker on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/mikedrucker.bsky.social Mike Drucker on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mikedruckerisdead/ Mike Drucker on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@mikedruckerisdead Game Dev Advice Links: * Website: show notes, links, stuff - https://www.gamedevadvice.com * Patreon: career coaching through the Gain Wisdom membership - https://www.patreon.com/gamedevadvice * YouTube: main channel link - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvkY8LxjGyOPqlQKuRlObhg * Game Dev Advice hotline: (224) 484-7733 * Email: reach out - [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices